Intro

This blog was created shortly after we got married to document the many adventures we would have together. Then we forgot all about it until we were given some news that changed our lives forever. On March 12, 2015 Kayla was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system. Overwhelmed by the love and support we have received since then, we decided to chronicle this adventure for all of you who wish to follow along.

March 31 - Port Surgery

                Today was the final ultrasound. The doctor told us that we would be set for egg retrieval on Thursday. In order to get ready for it we needed to give me a trigger injection that night. The timing of that injection was very important because exactly 36 hours after is when the retrieval needed to be performed. They didn't give me the time I needed to take it yet though, they had to check the schedules for Thursday so that they could plan my surgery for the right time. Heidi the nurse would call me that afternoon and tell me exactly when the injection needed to be done.

                The last thing we needed to do before we could head back to Logan was a blood test. They wanted to double check on my hormone levels. Having had many blood tests at this point I knew they only took a few seconds. Unfortunately the person having her blood drawn before me had invisible veins and it took 30 minutes before it was my turn. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem, but today, we had to be back in Logan for a surgery and my check in time was 9:30am. By the time my blood was drawn it was already 8:30am. There is no way to make the trip from Salt Lake to Logan in an hour, but we were going to do our best. I made a quick call to Logan Regional to let them know we were running late, and then we did our best to fly to Logan without getting pulled over.

                Chase did an excellent driving quickly and inconspicuously. I still had to give myself my last set of daily hormone injections. They had to be giving at the same time every day and we didn't have time to pull over. All of my training had led to this moment, as I gave myself 3 injections, going 80 miles per hour down the freeway. Probably the closest I will ever get to a Mission Impossible stunt.

                We managed to pull in at Logan Regional at 10:15am. Not bad time at all, considering how far we had come. The staff at surgery was prepared for me and they wasted no time. I had an IV line, all the pre-op tests done, and was ready to go by 10:40am. Since my surgery was planned for 10:45am we were back on schedule again. All of the staff were incredibly kind and helpful. They even had a snack area for Chase to hang out in while I was in surgery. The doctor came in to see if I was ready to go. She and the nurses rolled me in to the operating room. All of the standard questions were asked and then the anesthesiologist gave me some awesome drugs. Unlike my first surgery, this was just a sedation, not full anesthesia. I would be asleep, but not completely out. It was a lovely relaxing feeling. It helped to have some upbeat music playing in the background. Probably the choice of the young nurses setting everything up.

                Next thing I knew I was waking up back in the room I had started from. Chase was there and asked me how I was feeling. I felt pretty good. It was like waking up from a nap. Much different from the cloying drugged feeling that I'd felt after my biopsy. Then I tried to move. My shoulder felt like it had been hit by a truck. None of the procedures up to this point had hurt like this. The nurses came in and checked us out. After a quick x-ray to make sure that the port was in place I was declared fit to leave. I felt completely awake and other than some really intense pain in the left side of my chest I was doing pretty well. The hospital had ordered me a prescription of pain medication and I decided to fill it. For some reason leaving something in your body hurts a lot more than having something removed.

                We picked up my pills on the way home. Then rented a movie and went home to relax. I took one of the pills as soon as we got home and Chase fixed us some food. About 20 minutes later Heidi, from the fertility clinic, called. I was given instructions to take my injection at exactly 7:45pm. The rest of the afternoon I watched movies and slept. I don't have a great love for narcotics, they make me nauseous, but the pain in my shoulder was really significant. I took a second one 4 hours later and slept for several hours. About 8:15pm the reminder on my phone went off to remind Chase take the pills he had been given by the fertility clinic. When I told him to go take them he got a strange look on his face. “YOUR INJECTION!”

                Well shoot! Apparently giving Kayla time specific instructions doesn’t work well when she is on drugs. At least Chase had remembered before we were too late. Chase helped me give the large injection in my hip, but by the time we had gone over the instructions and gotten the medication all mixed up it was 8:30.  Hopefully we weren't going to cause too much trouble on Thursday morning by being so late. I sent an email off to the clinic and tried not to worry too much. 

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